Alzheimer's Drug Targeting Soluble Amyloid Falls Short in a Large Clinical Trial

| Newsline

A paper reports that solanezumab, a monoclonal antibody-based treatment for Alzheimer’s disease developed by Eli Lilly that targets amyloid plaques, did not significantly slow cognitive decline.

Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) led the multicenter study.

Researchers have proposed that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the buildup of a sticky protein called beta-amyloid. According to this ‘amyloid hypothesis,’ the protein forms plaques in the brain that damage and eventually destroy brain cells. Solanezumab was designed to reduce the level of soluble amyloid molecules before they aggregate.